---
At night, Fuyuki City.
The Saber team and the Laeam met here as pnned. As in the inal story, Artoria and Irisviel represehe Saber side, while Diarmuid stood alone on the Lancer side.
"Hmph, so it's true," Keh muttered, hidden away in the shadows, a smirk pying on his lips.
He had no iion of revealing himself, keeping a for Emiya Kiritsugu instead. The so-called "Magus Killer" had a notorious reputation that had reached eveh's ears. Uraditional magi who adhered strictly to magical dueling norms, Kiritsugu used modern onry and unorthodox tactics, including magically enhanced firearms. The man was known for bending the rules to their breaking point.
Kiritsugu wasn't incapable of magic either, far from it. He was skilled in time manipution, a legacy passed down through the Emiya family, allowing him to speed up or slow down his own perception of time. It was this bination of unventional thinking and his mastery over time-altering magecraft that had sent many a magus to their graves.
Keh was certain that even if Kiritsugu was identified as a Master, he would stay out of sight, waiting for the right moment to strike.
---
Otlefield, Diarmuid was growiless. "King of Knights," he called out, dual spears in hand. "I've been waiting long enough."
"e then," Artoria responded, her toeady as she summoned her armor and drew her invisible sword, hiddeh the Invisible Air. "This time, I won't be so easily misled."
Without another word, she unched herself at Diarmuid.
"Good, I was hoping you'd say that!" Diarmuid responded with a grin, and the csh of their ons echoed through the pier.
The duel was a fierce exge, with her fighter giving an inch. Diarmuid wielded his twin spears masterfully, but Artoria repared this time, fog her defenses against the spear that nullified magical prote, while using her armor to mitigate the blows from the cursed spear. Still, the Lancer's advantage in wielding two ons gave him the edge, keeping the King of Knights under stant pressure.
Meanwhile, other Servants had begun to arrive at the edges of the pier, watg from the darkness. They refrained from interfering, tent to observe for the time being.
But the tense equilibrium was quickly shattered.
---
VROOM, VROOM, VROOM...
---
The roar of a motorcycle tore through the night as a red-haired figure, dressed like a biker, burst onto the se. He sped straight into the heart of the battle, f both Artoria and Diarmuid to halt their duel.
"Don't be unreasonable in the presence of a king!" the newer bellowed.
It was Iskandar, the King of querors. Inspired by the earlier quiz, where he had seen Gilgamesh on a motorcycle, he couldn't resist getting one for himself. He had even dragged Waver along on a spontaneous shopping trip, seg a suitable outfit for the occasion. For a Servant with A+ Riding skill, learning to handle a motorcycle had been a simple matter.
As for a lise… well, that was a different story.
"King of querors, I told you not to interfere with our duel," Artoria protested, irritation evident in her voice.
Uurbed, Iskandar gave her a wide grin. "It's only the first night of the war. Why rush to settle things? Wouldn't it be better for all of us to get acquainted first?" He then turned his gaze toward the surrounding darkness. "Isn't it time for the rest of you to show yourselves?" he called out.
"Hmph, how dull. I expected a more iing spectacle," came a voice from above.
A golden figure perched atop a nearby streetmp, bathed in a radiant glow that outshohe darkness around him. It was Gilgamesh, his luminous presence drawing every gaze toward him, turning the Hero King into the brightest figure otlefield.
gratutions to Gilgamesh on earning the title of "Street Light King."
Elsewhere, Chihiro and Zhang Jiao appeared atop a tainer, both dressed in sharp suits. Zhang Jiao had hahe Royal Brand to Chihiro earlier, as it provided little be to a Heroic Spirit like himself. For a Master, however, the bonus effects were invaluable.
Gilgamesh's gaze immediately so Chihiro, his eyes narrowing with thinly veiled rage. "How dare a mongrel like you stand before this king?" he spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "Are you prepared to die?"
The air around Gilgamesh shimmered like water as several golden portals materialized, eae housing a on from his vast treasury.
Gate of Babylon, open.
The treasures burst forth in a dazzling flurry, streaking toward Chihiro.
Reag instantly, Chihiro and Zhang Jiao leapt away, avoiding the barrage just as the taihey had been standing on exploded into a shower of debris.
"Where do you think yoing?" Gilgamesh sneered, summoning more ons to unch at Chihiro. It was clear he wouldn't be satisfied until the young Master y lifeless at his feet.
"Hey, Hero King, isn't this a bit excessive?" Iskandar remarked. "Do you really o go all out against a Master?"
Gilgamesh scoffed. "This is the prie pays for offending a king."
---
As the ons closed in, Chihiro was forced into a desperate backward roll to evade them. The attacks weren't aimed for precision; they were desigo cover a wide area, making escape nearly impossible.
The resulting explosions kicked up a cloud of dust and smoke, obsg Chihiro from view.
Ting, ting, ting…
Amidst the fading echoes of metal strikial, a series of ctters rang out as several of Gilgamesh's ons were knocked away. As the dust settled, the gathered audience could hardly believe their eyes.
Chihiro now stood a set of ornate armor, a purple-gold ad his head, with heavy gaus on each arm. The aura surrounding him was unmistakably that of a Heroic Spirit.
"Well, that was close," Chihiro said, exhaling sharply as the gauransformed into a halberd, the massive polearm resting in his hands.
"Could this boy be a Heroic Spirit? No!" Keh's voice trembled with disbelief as he observed from his hiding pce. "He was definitely a human before, but now… could it be?"
"Css Cards?" Gilgamesh muttered, his eyes narrowing as realization dawned. "I see… You've been being from your success in the quizzes. It seems you've acquired quite a few iing artifacts."
